Upon Further Review With Mike Nolan

Great discussion by a number of disgruntled posters and your antipathy is justified. The team has underachieved. I do implore everyone however, no swearing, even if you take out the middle letters to obvious swears. Most of you are creative enough to get across your message without expletives. Remember we do have kids viewing the site.

Mike Nolan said he was told he couldn’t throw a challenge flag on punt returner Ryne Robinson’s first-quarter fumble, not because Robinson was down by contact, but because officials ruled that his forward progress had been stopped. Interestingly the referee closest to the play ruled it was a fumble initially.

Technically, the call is probably correct, but the rule is flawed. If an offensive player is knocked backwards, his forward progress is stopped. But that doesn’t mean the play is over, and plenty of ball carriers get knocked back but still surge forward. What applies to offense, should apply to defense.

As for Nolan’s choice to punt on 4th-and-2 from the 42 in the third quarter, Nolan should have decided to go for it for a few reasons. First, the 49ers have been unable to score in the last two games unless they’ve had a short field. Against the Cardinals, two of their touchdowns came from drives of 6- and 32-yards. The team hasn’t gone a drive longer than 10 plays in the last nine quarters.

Not only that, but Nolan should be doing all he can to infuse his team with confidence. But failing to go for it, Nolan’s displaying no faith in his offense or defense. If losses like the one in Carolina keep piling up, Nolan will need the support of his players.

The chances are the 49ers probably wouldn’t have gotten the first down and would have lost anyway. But at that point, they had an opportunity to wrest back the momentum after Michael Lewis’ turnover on a punt return. On the road, with a team playing better than you are, you’ve got to take that opportunity.

SMITH UPDATE: A Fox report saying the 49ers are considering not paying Alex Smith an $8 million option to keep his contract going was incorrect. Smith does have an option but the team owes Smith the bonus cash either way. In order to make contracts more salary-cap palatable, options are written into the middle of contracts. Typically if they’ve not paid, the player’s salaries at the back end of the deal then become guaranteed, so the players gets his bonus either way.

Smith said Friday that he can still barely lift his right arm above his head and that his collar bone shifts and rubs when he throws. He looks as if he’s heading for season-ending surgery to tighten torn ligaments in his shoulder. Smith will test the shoulder with light throwing in Wednesday’s practice.

MORE GORE: Why didn’t Frank Gore get more than 17 touches (12 runs, five catches). The 49ers only ran 52 plays, so Gore’s ratio wasn’t bad. Also, the Panthers blitzed far more than the Cardinals did the week before, which usually means Gore has to stay in to block,and Gore doesn’t get much action in rubbish time.

WHY NOT MORE DAVIS?: Part of the reason Vernon Davis caught one pass was due to Vernon Davis. He has to get open and when he pushes off linebacker Jon Beason, he has to keep his feet. Davis fell down when pushing off Beason, which allowed Beason to intercept the pass.